Strøm Benedicte Sørensen, Engedal Knut, Grov Ellen-Karine
Center for Diakonia and Professional Practice, VID Specialized University, Oslo, Norway.
Norwegian Advisory Unit for Aging and Health, Vestfold Hospital HF, Tønsberg, Norway; Department of Geriatrics, Oslo University Hospital, Tønsberg, Norway.
Dement Geriatr Cogn Dis Extra. 2016 Apr 30;6(1):150-60. doi: 10.1159/000444789. eCollection 2016 Jan-Apr.
The objective of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Threadgold Communication Tool (TCT).
Internal consistency reliability was measured using Cronbach's α coefficient and inter-item correlation. Test-retest was performed to examine the instrument's stability. Exploratory principal component analysis (PCA) with oblimin rotation was carried out to evaluate construct validity. Finally, the score on each item of the TCT was correlated with the person's Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Barthel Index of activities of daily living scores.
A total of 51 persons participated, with a mean age of 86.7 (SD 6.6) years, of whom 46 were women with moderate-to-severe dementia [mean MMSE score 7.5 (SD 6.7)]. There were two measurement points 2 weeks apart. The results showed a satisfactory level for internal consistency and a high test-retest reliability (r = 0.76). The corrected item-total correlation ranged between 0.50 and 0.87, and a two-factor structure was revealed at the PCA. 'Vocalizing' seemed to measure another aspect of communication and was the only item which was negatively loaded.
Despite the low sample size in this study, the results revealed the TCT as a reliable and valid instrument, suitable for measuring communication among people with dementia. We suggest clarifying the understanding of 'vocalizing' before considering removing it from the scale.
本研究的目的是调查思睿沟通工具（TCT）的心理测量特性。
使用克朗巴哈α系数和项目间相关性来测量内部一致性信度。进行重测以检验该工具的稳定性。采用带有斜交旋转的探索性主成分分析（PCA）来评估结构效度。最后，将TCT各项目的得分与受试者的简易精神状态检查表（MMSE）得分及巴氏日常生活活动指数得分进行相关性分析。
共有51人参与，平均年龄86.7（标准差6.6）岁，其中46名女性患有中度至重度痴呆症[平均MMSE得分为7.5（标准差6.7）]。设有两个测量点，间隔两周。结果显示内部一致性水平令人满意，重测信度较高（r = 0.76）。校正后的项目-总分相关性在0.50至0.87之间，主成分分析揭示了一个双因素结构。“发声”似乎测量了沟通的另一个方面，是唯一呈负负荷的项目。
尽管本研究样本量较小，但结果表明TCT是一种可靠且有效的工具，适用于测量痴呆症患者之间的沟通。我们建议在考虑从量表中删除“发声”之前，先明确对其的理解。
